The Forgotten Ones
by Sub Ink
Summary: The Forgotten Ones, while the world moved on; while their parents and siblings had great adventures, they lived at home. Sometimes feeling neglected or wholly ignored by the main Heroes. But their lives as of recently have been anything but normal. This is their story. (This story features Kyle Bennett (Noah Bennett's son), Monty and Simon Petreli (Nathan's sons) and a few OCs).
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

A silver marble sized sphere appeared in the dry desert air. The sphere began to grow, it got so big that the bottom touched the desert floor. The silver sphere became distorted and became a dome on the desert sand as it became a dome. The dome grew and stopped. Its silver intensity began to fade, revealing five silhouettes of people. The dome faded away and in its place where five kids, crouching down, covering each other.

David, one of the teenagers who appeared from the sphere, opened his eyes slowly. His dark brown eyes saw the slightly windy desert air and he stood up. He had ebony skin that was visible through his short sleeve white vest and green trousers. The other teenagers followed his lead and stood up from their crouching position.

"What-what happened?" Matilda asked in her Irish accent, her eyes squinting at the barren desert with patches of green and rock. She was wearing white pyjamas with pictures of blue whales printed on it. Her brown hair was messy and had pieces of blanket cottons in her hair.

"I don't know," David said. "But it doesn't seem like we're at the Shiva sight anymore."

"I think we still are." Remy said, pointing at a rock that protruded from the ground like a brown fang. Remy had youthful green eyes and messy blonde hair. He had a skinny frame, unlike David's much better built body. The fair skin on his arm had proof of a receding sun burn as he pointed at the rock sticking from the ground.

"The boy is right." Xing said in her Chinese accented English. Her hair was tired in a ponytail that touched her back and she had on baggy jeans and a black tracksuit jacket with white lines running along the arms and shoulders. "That rock is in Shiva."

"But where's the other kids and parents," David said as he rotated in place, surveying the surroundings. "Where's the…" He stopped when he saw cabins some distance away. Half of them were disassembled and buried in sand and a few seemed to be standing. "Looks like I've been answered."

"Do you think our parents are there?" A small voice said walking up to David and hugging his arm. The small voice belonged to Cammy, the youngest of the group in a white nightdress.

David did not know what to say. He looked back at the group of confused people, as confused as he was. At 17, he was the oldest, followed closely by Xing and Remy at 15 the Matilda at 13 and finally Cammy by 7. Being the oldest meant that they would look to him for leadership.

"I don't know but we will find them or at least… find out what happened to them." David said before he took her hand and led the group to the few still standing cabins.

/

Angela Petreli opened the door and as soon as she did a boy with frilly blonde hair rushed forward and hugged her. She smiled as he returned the hug.

"Hello, grandma!" The boy excitedly said.

Angela placed her hands on her grandson's shoulder after the hug and looked at him with a smile on her face. "Wow, you have grown, Simon." She said. She looked at his eyes and saw that he had Nathan's eyes.

"I beg to differ," Another of Angela's grandsons said. Monty had his hands in his pocket and looked disapprovingly at his twin brother. He calmly approached his grandmother and gave her a calmer hug than Simon. "It's good to see you grandma."

"You too." Angela said, returning the hug. "Where is your mother?" Anela asked just as Natahnwife walked up the house carrying a bag. Angela smiled at her daughter-in-law. "I see these boys are making you work."

"Considering I never get a chance to see them much, I don't mind." She said before they gave each other the double check kiss greeting.

"How about you boys unpack your things." Angela said. "You can pick any room in the house."

The boys took their luggage bags and the bag their mother had brought and went to explore the house in search of a room, while Angela led Natanwife to the living room where she made a cup of tea for both of them. Angela could see the bags under Nathawife's eyes and the sad expression that she tried to hide.

"You don't look so good," Angela commented as she placed the cup of tea in front of her. "Are you okay?"

Heidi took a sip of the tea. "No, not really. I feel like I'm… stuck."

"Stuck?" Angela asked.

"Yes, I haven't moved on from Nathan's death."

Angela sighed at herself. "Heidi, you need to move on. You have two boys to take care of."

"I know but… I can't find closure. At least not when I don't really know what happened to him." Heidi said looking down at her tea as light steam rose from it. "I mean, Nathan's death was so mysterious and sudden…"

"Most deaths are sudden." Angela said.

"Yes but… I can't help feel like there is more to it." She said before looking at Angela. "I feel like there's something about his death that you're not telling me. I feel like he did not just die of a car accident."

Angela sighed again. "You can't be chasing fairytales, Heidi. Nathan died of a car accident and that's it. There's no more to the story." Angela was glad that she had decided to invite the twins to stay with her just like she had dreamt she would. Maybe the dream was also a warning about Heidi's condition. "It's a good thing the boys are staying with me, it will give you time on your own. Go relax, go mourn, go do whatever you need to do to move on and be a proper mother and then come back after this weekend." Angela said sternly, more as an order than a suggestion.

Heidi nodded weakly before finishing the rest of her tea.

/

Monty had found a room that he liked and was already lying on the bed with his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. His brother's head popped up from the door frame. "Hey, why did you choose a room far away from me?"

"Because I want to be as far away from your snoring as possible." He said turning to the die and showing his brother his back.

"I don't snore, you snore but I don't." Simon said entering the room. "Why don't we go downstairs and join mom and grandma?"

"Because they're talking about something we should not hear." He said.

"Come on, what could they be talking about that they don't want us to hear?"

Simon turned around to look at his brother with a look that was in between frustration and disgust. Monty braced himself because he knew when his brother had that look it usually meant an insult was coming his way. "Sometimes I wonder how your 16. Mom has taken dad's death hard and with us being at boarding school, she has had no one to support her. She and grandma are probably talking about that and how she doesn't want us to see her breaking down, so stop being an idiot and give them their time alone."

Simon got up and began leaving the room. At the doorway he stopped and looked down. "Hey, I know mom's been struggling. I'm worried about her too." Simon left his brother to his thoughts.

After a few more minutes, both boys heard their mother's voice calling to them from downstairs. They both ran down the stairs to her.

"I'm leaving now." Heidi said putting a hand on each twin's shoulder. "Don't give your grandmother too much of a big headache."

"We can't make any promises," Simon said hugging her, followed by Monty.

The twins and Angela watched as Heidi drove out of the Petreli family home. When she was gone, Angela placed a comforting hand on their shoulders. "Okay boys. I hope you two are ready for a fun weekend with your grandma."

/

Kyle Bennet sat in maths class, looking out of the window. The concept of deriving a function of x had gone over his head and as such had given up on listening. This was the last day of school before the break came and this was his last year of secondary education. He was both excited and anxious about this fact. Like many of his generation, he disliked school but he was also confused about what he wanted.

The bell rang and pulled him out of his daydreaming. There were whoops from his classmates as this was the final class of the day and semester. Kyle smiled at his classmates celebrations. He wished he could join them as they excitedly talked to each other but he could not. Ever since the secret of people with abilities was outed by his sister, he had become something of an outsider with his peers. He was associated with her by name so everyone looked at him and his family like they were some kind of freaks. Most of his friends had abandoned him and the school at one time wanted to expel him because he 'potentially endangered the other kids'. His mother gave the school a piece of her mind which forced them to keep him there. With one action, his sister had branded him and outcast and everyone now looked at him like he would jump off a Ferris wheel… and survive.

As he headed for the exit he dug a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it with a gas lighter. A red lighter that strangely had the symbol that was on the Kensie sword that belonged to the legendary Takeo Kensie. He waited on a corner some distance away from the school gate. This is where he and his girlfriend usually met afterschool.

A few minutes of smoking passed before his girlfriend, Martha showed up. She was wearing black jeans with a blue blouse while struggling with her heavy school bag. He quickly threw the cigarette and stepped on it before she reached him.

"Hey." She said almost out of breath.

"Hey," He said kissing her on the cheek.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Have you been smoking? You know I hate it when you do that."

Kyle shrugged while reaching for her bag's strap. "Here, let's switch." He said taking her back and giving her his.

"I'm always surprised how light your bag is." She said slinging it around her shoulders. "It's like you use one book for everything."

"Maybe it's because I do."

"What?" She exclaimed as they got on their way.

He laughed at her response. Kyle Bennett and Martha Smith were opposites when it came to their education. Kyle was more of a slacker who was happy with his grades being just above mediocre while Martha was a hard worker who had straight As. They met when Martha, undeterred by the rumours of Kyle being a freak like his sister, offered to tutor him. During that time their relationship progressed to friendship and then into a romantic one. Kyle had had many girlfriends but Martha was his first serious relationship while for Martha, this was her first romantic relationship.

They spoke about their days as they walked to the bus stop. At the bus stop, they stopped. This was where Martha caught the bus and then Kyle would walk back to his home.

"So, have you registered at the collage yet?" Martha asked.

"Uhm…" Kyle said scratching his head.

"Why haven't you done it?" Martha asked sounding concerned. "Don't you want to attend the same schools as me?"

"I do!" Kyle said trying to assure her. "I just don't think my grades will be good enough to get into any collage."

"You're speaking like you've already written the test and failed." Martha said. "We still have a whole summer ahead of us and a few more months and I can always help you."

"I don't know, Martha."

"You don't know if you want my help or you don't know if you want to go to the same collage as me?" Martha said.

Kyle ran his hands through his black hair while trying to figure out what to say. There was nothing more he wanted to do than go to the same school as Martha and be with her but he had one big problem. Other for the fact that he was not so good at school; he did not know what he wanted to be! Martha was focused; she could see her future clearly and knew what steps to take to get there. Kyle on the other hand had no idea what his future would be nor did he have any inclination on what he wanted it to be. He searched for the words that would not make him sound corny or like he was making excuses.

"Hmph!" Martha folded her arms as the bus came by. She took his silence as a yes to both her questions. "I guess you'll tell me when you know." She said as she made her way to the bus.

Kyle could hear the anger and hurt in her voice. "Martha, wait." He said.

"I can't." Martha replied after digging out her ticket and showing it to the bus driver before getting in the bus.

Kyle watched as the bus pulled away from him, leaving him there alone. He remembered that he still had Martha's bag and she his. He sighed, knowing that Martha may not want to see or talk to him any further today, he decided that he would give her the bag tomorrow, when they both had calmed down.

/

David entered the cabin first. It was dusty with a few streams of light entering the wooden cabin. The other kids followed close behind, filling out the cabin.

"Doesn't seem anyone is here." Matilda said, looking around.

"I think someone does live here." Remy said pointing at the mattress on the floor and the magazines beside it.

Xing kneeled beside the bed and looked at the magazines. She noticed that pages had been ripped out of most of them. She flipped through the magazine and then saw something that made her eyes go wide and she said something in Mandarian Chinese.

David looked at her after her shocked expression. "What?" He said.

"Look." She said handing the magazine to David. The other kids craned over to David to see what Xing had seen.

"What is it?" Matlida said trying to look at the magazine while Remy looked over his shoulder.

"I want to see too!" Cammy said tugging at his trousers.

"Guys, give me some space." David said while trying to get away from them while scanning the magazine. "I don't see anything wrong, Xing." He said while trying to keep the magazine away from the eager teens and kids.

"Look at date." Xing said.

David looked at the date at the right-hand corner of the magazine. "No, it can't be!" David said which was what Xing had said in her language.

"What?" Matilda said snatching the magazine from his hands.

"The date is wrong." David said as he walked to the other magazines. "It must be." He picked up more magazine and joined Xing in looking at the dates of each of the magazines. "If… if this is right, we're in the future."

"Future?" Remy said in disbelief. "We time travelled?"

"Who are you?" A new voice screeched.

The group of five looked at the doorway and saw an old woman standing there. She had wild hair, rags for clothes and an angry expression. The group was frightened by the new comer.

David was about to say something to the woman but was cut off when she screamed, "Get out!"

There was a sudden wind in the cabin that lifted the kids off the ground. They flew around once before crashing through a second doorway of the cabin. David crashed through the door, opening it and was followed by the other kids. The mysterious wind threw them outside in the sandy desert floor. David landed hard and rolled in the dirt; Remy landed head first into a bush while Matilda landed some distance away from David while Matilda crashed on top of her. Xing was the last to exit and fell on her stomach.

The mystery woman stepped out of the cabin following the kids. "It was a mistake that you came here, for you have come to your DEATH!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A great wind blew over the Coyote Sands project sight… or at least what was left of it. The wind came from all directions and swirled around an old woman with long brunette hair. The woman had a crazed look in her eyes as she began to levitate into the air. The five teenagers and kids; David, Remy, Xing, Matilda and Cammy; had to be careful not to lose their balance as the winds attempted to buffet them around.

"You have made a big mistake by coming here!" The woman said as she rose above them.

"Please," Xing said putting her hands out while trying to stay on her feet, "we want no trouble!"

The wind had picked up speed, howling in strength. "Well you've found it!" The woman said as she raised her hands above her head. It began with a single crackle of electricity and then electricity began building up between his hands. The rebellious strands of electricity leaked out from the woman's palms, giving the environment around her a taste of the power she was building up. "You will all burn!"

David realised that this woman meant to kill them all as evident by the violent energy that she was gathering. "No," he said as he saw Cammy struggling to hang on against the strong winds. His instinct to protect his group kicked in. "No!" He shouted again as he thrust his arms out and from there a wall of shimmering air blasted out heading for the woman.

The wave hit the levitating woman and she fell back, downwards causing the energy she was gathering in her hands dissipated harmlessly. She fell through the roof of the cabin but the aged wood could not take her weight and she crashed through, making a sizeable hole in the ceiling.

David looked at his hands. It had happened again. He had used his ability again and he was not sure how. They were all on the ground and he was the first one to rise to his feet. "Is everyone okay?"

"I'm okay." Xing said as she walked over to Matilda and Cammy.

"I think we're alright." Matilda said as Xing was helping her and Cammy up.

David nodded. "Wait… where is Remy?"

A rustling bush answered his question. David looked towards the direction of the bush and saw Remy's head implanted into the bush, which rustled again as Remy tried to speak from it. David helped him up and his face out of the bush.

"Of all the places I could land in the desert, I land in a bush," Remy complained as he removed twigs from his face and frilly hair. "Where's the crazy lady?"

"She crashed in there." David said nodding to the cabin.

"Should we run away?" Cammy asked as the girls approached them being led by Xing.

David gazed at the cabin with a thoughtful look on his face. "Well, she hasn't come out and attacked us again."

"Maybe she's knocked out." Remy said.

"Yes, or maybe…" David could not bring himself to consider the other option, especially if it meant he was responsible for it. "I'm going to check; you guys stay here." He walked off to the cabin.

David arrived at the entrance of the cabin, bracing himself as he prepared to enter. He took a sharp intake of breath then pushed the door open. The cabin was quiet and the sun streamed in from the old roof with the newly made hole. The woman who had attacked them was on the floor, facing up with eyes closed.

David slowly and carefully made his way to the woman. He wanted to check if she was still alive. Although her being dead would be good for them, he did not like the thought that he may have killed someone and was therefore torn between what he wanted this woman to be. He reached for her neck with a shaky hand. A big party of him was scared that she would wake up and kill him, therefore he was careful, if not reluctant, as he reached to feel her pulse. When his hand was inches away from her neck there was a loud bang causing David jumped back with a start. He looked back and saw that it was Remy who had caused the sound by carelessly opening the door and allowing it to swing and hit the outside wall.

"Remy, I thought I told you to stay outside!" David whispered angrily.

"The girls were getting worried and as the only guy I was forced to check up on you." Remy said.

David sighed as he tried to get his heart beating normally again. He reached out again and felt the woman's pulse. He could feel it beating strongly against her skin and into his fingers. "She's still alive."

"Well that's bad for us." Remy said. "I guess we better get the girls and leave before she gets up and goes all 'You've-come-to-your-death' on us again."

David shook his head. "We have nowhere to go. I think we should tie her up until we figure out what to do next."

"We don't have any rope..." Remy said before David walked over to the mattress on the floor that was next to the magazines and newspapers they had found earlier. He overturned the mattress and began ripping it apart into long pieces of cloth.

"If we don't have a rope, we'll just have to make one." David said as he quickly worked.

Remy saw pages of magazines flying form under the mattress when David overturned it. He walked to them and saw that they had been ripped out of the magazines they had found earlier. Upon closer inspection he noticed one name appeared in all the magazine ripped out pieces, "Petreli."

"What?" David said not stopping his task.

"These ripped out pages are about the Petrelis… whoever they are." Remy looked at the article. "They seem to be important. Nathan Petreli, head of the Senate dies of recurring injuries sustained during assassination attempt. Peter Petreli to head Super Police. Expos on the Petrelis." Remy read out the headlines of the pages. "They must be big stuff."

David walked over to him and looked at one of the magazines he was holding. "Petrelis vs Kardashians." He read one of the headlines. "It's probably tabloid junk, Remy. Help me tie the crazy lady up." David said tossing the page away.

Remy shrugged and put the pages down while helping David tie up their new prisoner.

/

A new day began and the Petreli twins got even more settled in into the Petreli Family Mansion. Simon explored the mansion. Every new room was like finding a treasure. The mansion was bigger than his mother's impressive penthouse and way bigger than his dorm room at the boarding school he and his brother attended.

"Simon?" Simon heard his brother's voice call his name through the big mansion.

"I'm coming!" Simon said running through from room to room trying to find his brother. "I'm coming!" He shouted again as he tried to find his way through the huge house. He suddenly stopped. "Uhm… where are you?"

"Don't tell me you were lost." Monty said from behind Simon, which startled him.

Simon turned around to face his brother who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded. He had a disapproving look on his face.

"Of course I was not lost!" Simon said trying to look calm.

Monty slowly shook his head. "I can't believe you're the older twin," he said before leading the way.

Simon caught up to him until they walked side by side.

"So, is breakfast ready?" Simon said rubbing his belly.

"Mhm, Granma has the chefs working at full capacity." Monty said as he walked to the dinning room. "I think we're going to eat food we've never eaten before."

They got to the dining room where Angela Petreli was waiting for them along with a small collection of food and servants waiting buy to serve them. Simon and Monty's eyes widened at the amount and variety of food presented to them.

"Please, sit boys." Angela urged them.

Simon and Monty sat at the table forming a triangle to where Angela sat. Angela clapped her hands and the servants began dishing up the food. Simon and Monty earnestly dug into their food. For them, eating had become a dull affair over the years as they had tasted almost every kind of food and could get anything they wanted. However, their grandmother had good taste and the food that she presented them with was exceptional.

"Now calm down boys." Angela said calmly sipping tea. "Your breakfast isn't going to run away."

"Sorry grandma." Monty said with a half full mouth.

"And don't forget your manners." Angela said.

"Sorry grandma." Simon said with a full mouth.

Angela smiled to herself as the boys regained their composure. "I hope you guys are ready for an outing with me."

"An outing?" Monty asked. "What kind?"

"I want to take you on a tour of the city, true tourist style." Angela said.

"That sounds fun!" Simon said. "When do we start?"

"As soon as you finish breakfast."

/

Matilda snuck out of the cabin, careful not to wake any other of the kids or teenagers. They had all been exhausted from the day's events and decided to rest. She stepped out of the run down cabin they had decided to inhabit. The wind blew the sand and her hair about but gave the dry air a cooling effect. An effect she welcomed. She was still in her snug pyjamas which did made her temperature even higher in the arid environment.

She looked across from their run down cabin to the only cabin still left standing, the cabin that had the crazy woman who attacked her. Instead of fear of the woman in the cabin, she felt curiosity. What do murderous and crazy women who can fly do when they are not being watched, she wondered to herself. David had labelled the cabin a 'no go zone' but that only made her want to investigate it and its occupant even more.

She began walking across to the other cabin. She raised herself on to her toes to peek into the window of the cabin. In the room she saw the woman with her back resting on a far corner and her head drooped down in unconsciousness. Around her body were coils of cloth that ensured that she was bound.

A peek in the window did nothing to quell her curiosity. She had to get closer to her. She went to the entrance and quietly opened the door while keeping on the figure at corner. Her body did not stir, only the steady rising and falling of her chest as she breathed in and out was the only sign of life. She snuck closer to her, cringing every time she unwittingly made a noise.

She was now close to the woman, analysing her face which was slightly hidden by her unkempt long greying hair. Matilda could not help smile at herself for finding a kindred spirit. Although she had beautiful long red hair, she hated the work of maintaining its curliness and cleanness. This woman seemed let her hair be. She looked at her face which had deep lines of wrinkles from old age and the harsh desert sun on her skin.

The woman's eyes suddenly flew open and she was looking at Matilda! Matilda was so startled by this that she fell back and stared back at the woman in wide eyes of shock and horror. There was a look of madness in the older woman's eyes but it slowly faded into a look of confusion.

"Matilda?" She said.

Matilda's heart skipped a beat at hearing her name at the crazy woman's lips. "How... how do you know my name?"

"No, it can't be you." The woman said. "Angela is doing this. I know you're doing this somehow Angelaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" The woman screamed as a howling wind came into the cabin, opening doors and breaking whatever windows were left.

Matilda was frozen in place by her fear. She stared at the woman as she got more and more unhinged and the freakish wind picked up strength. Chairs were being thrown around and there were small sparks of lightning crackled ever so often around the cabin. Matilda closed her eyes shut hoping that the scene before her would pass. Suddenly she felt two strong arms pick her up and she hugged her body to the chest of her rescuer as she was carried out of the cabin.

David put Matilda down on the ground once they were away from the cabin. "Are you okay?" David asked.

She nodded.

"What were you doing in there" He shouted. "I said no one was to enter that place for good reason!"

Matilda began crying from the fearful experience and from being shouted at. "I'm… I'm sorry." She said hiding her watery eyes with her forearm.

"Gees, cut her some slack, David." Remy said covering her in his arms.

"Sorry," Xing said at the sobbing girl.

David sighed and looked back at the cabin as the winds around it began to calm down. He needed to do something about this situation or they would all end up dead.

/

Kyle Bennett waited for his girlfriend… possible ex-girlfriend in front of class. She appeared walking quickly to class. He walked forward to meet her.

"Hey, you forgot this yesterday." Kyle said handing her bag back to her.

"Thanks," Martha said giving him his.

It felt weird to exchange schoolbags instead of a hug as per their ritual, a ritual he hated but right now he missed. They kept quiet for an awkward moment and for that moment the silence between them seemed to last a lifetime.

"Martha, about yesterday…" Kyle began but Martha held up her hand.

"It's… okay, Kyle." Martha said.

Kyle knew it was far from okay. She was just avoiding confrontation and leaving things uncertain. He did not want to do that. He wanted to fix things. "Martha I…" The school bell rang, cutting him off. he clenched his fist in frustration. He could not wait until his time would not be dictated by that bell!

"We're late." Martha said walking past him, avoiding eye contact, avoiding physical contact.

He sighed as he turned to watch her walk away. She stopped before she entered the classroom to glance at him before she entered. He sighed and also entered the class his mind not prepared to learn any Geography.

/

One of the stops Angela planned for the boys was a meeting with one of the greatest soccer players in the world, Isaac Mohammedi. The boys looked awestruck when they saw the giant-like man with a short well trimmed beard. He had a friendly face and he smiled as he spoke to them while he lovingly held his wife's hand. The boys were awestruck by the player and Simon could not help but involuntarily squeal when he offered to teach them a few skills. While the boys played, Angela and Isaac's wife found a bench where they could sit and talk while watching them.

"How is your son, Meriam?" Angela asked once she was alone with Meriam.

Meriam was wearing a light purple Hajib and a black dress. "He is okay. He'll be starting Secondary school next year."

"Oh, congratulations!" Angela said.

Monty received a ball pass from Isaac and began running across the grass carefully manoeuvring the ball between his feet. He glanced up at the path he was taking which ended up at the goalpost where his twin brother Simon was standing guard.

"However, I am more worried about _your_ son, Ms Petreli." Meriam said turning her head away from the boys playing to look at Angela.

"Oh? There is nothing to worry about." Angela said as the Monty got closer to the goalpost but having picked up a lot of speed.

"According to the news, he's starting a new Company?" Meriam said.

Monty got closer to the goalie and slowed down in order to aim his shot.

"Yes, he is." Angela said as Simon grounded himself, prepared to block his brother's shot at goal. "I think it is a good idea, especially if its lead by him."

"I'm just worried." Meriam said just as Monty pulled back his leg and shot it forward to kick the ball at the target. "I see all the good the last incarnation of The Company did but I cannot forget the evil it did either."

Simon desperately dived for the speeding ball but missed it by inches as it passed him and hit the back of the net.

"Evil?" Angela said. "I don't view anything that the last incarnation of the Company did as evil. Everything we did was for the benefit of people like me and your husband and the rest of people on Earth."

Meriam sighed, obviously not agreeing with Angela but reluctant to pursue the conversation any further.

"Has your son manifested yet?" Angela asked. Monty was celebrating his goal and he stopped to look back at his brother who was sitting on the grass, cradling his knee. He ran to him to find out what's wrong.

"No and I hope he never does." Meriam said. "I'm afraid now that the world knows about people with powers, they'll look more closely at my husband and my family. It's already bad enough that we're Muslims living in America but if people knew about my husband, it would make our lives worse."

"My son will be able to protect you," Angela said squeezing the woman's hand reassuringly. "And if he fails, I will."

Monty reached his brother. "You okay, Simon?" He asked.

"Yeah," Simon said sounding pained. "I think I just over did it a bit." He said opening his hands which he had placed on his raised right knee. His knee was bleeding from a flesh wound he obtained while diving for the ball.

"Ouch, that looks… painful." Monty said leaning down to get a better look.

While Monty was kneeling down, their arms touched and Monty felt a sharp pain in his right knee that made him stand up quickly. He looked at the source of the pain and saw that an injury exactly like his brother's had appeared over his own knee!

Simon also saw this and they exchanged looks of worry and fear before they heard Isaac asking them if they were okay. Monty shook his head subtly at Simon and Simon understooid what he was saying.

"Yeah, we're okay." Simon said getting up and ignoring the pain and the strange event.

They said their goodbyes to the great soccer player and his wife and went on to finish the day.

/

Kyle was sitting at home as the day drew to an end. His mother and current husband were preparing for their date night which meant that they would be leaving him alone in the house. Nora Bennett rushed down the stairs to her husband and son who were waiting for her at the door.

"Okay, Kyle, we're leaving." Nora said to her son as she dug through her handbag to make sure she had everything she needed. "You have my numbers right?"

"Yes mom." Kyle answered.

"And Mark's"

"Yes mom."

"And…"

"Mom, this isn't the first time you leave me alone." Kyle said smiling. "I'll be okay and the house will still be standing when you get back… promise."

Nora smiled. "Awe, my little boy's all grown up." She said before kissing his forehead.

"Enjoy yourself on your date." Kyle said. He nodded when Mark raised his hand in farewell.

A few minutes later he flopped on the couch where his bag lay and opened it. He switched on the television while getting out his book to study.

Mr. Muggles, the family pet, jumped on the couch and sat beside him. He occasionally caressed his soft fur while the dog was focused on the flashing images on the television screen.

He opened his book and to his surprise saw well detailed notes that he did not make. Recognising the hand writing as Martha's, he smiled to himself. _Even when she's mad at me, she wants to helps me. I love that girl._ Kyle suddenly froze as he replayed his thoughts. "I… love that girl." He repeated to himself out loud which made Mr. Muggles look at him. "You hear that Mr. Muggles, I love her!" Mr. Muggles barked in response. Kyle got up and fetched his mobile phone. He called Martha as he realised that he needed to tell her that he loved her.

The call was about to get through before there was a knock on the door. He sighed in disappointment and noticed that Martha's phone had not begun ringing yet. He ended the call before it got through and settled to call her again after he found out who was at the door.

As he walked to the door Mr. Muggles followed him. He guessed it must be his mother and Mark coming back for something they had forgotten. However, he opened the door, there was neither Mark nor his mother but instead there was a man with short jelled up black hair and side burns, a brown jacket and blue jeans. He had a charming and cocky smile on his face.

"Can I help you?" Kyle asked slightly confused.

"I'm looking for Noah Bennett." The man said.

"My dad?" Kyle asked sounding between confused and outraged. "My father doesn't live here. He doesn't even visit here, so you have the wrong house!" Kyle swung the door closed but at the last moment the man blocked the door and pushed into the house. "Hey, you can't just come in here," Kyle said following the man into the kitchen, "get out!"

"Shut up kid, I'm a friend of your father's" the man said. "My name is Thompson."

"Well I'm glad for you, now get out!"

"Listen to me!" Thompson said while closing the distance between Kyle and himself which made Kyle scared. "Someone real bad is looking to draw your father out by attacking the people he loves."

"Me? Sorry to inform you pal but my father doesn't love me. If he did he's at least call me once in a while."

"Well nonetheless, if you're a Bennet, you're in danger." Thompson said. "I'm here to protect you guys."

"From who?" Just as Kyle said that someone walked into the house. He had a black overcoat with a black sweater and jeans.

"Well that was easy." He said looking at Kyle and Thompson. "Now, which one of you should I kill first?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

A great wind blew over the Coyote Sands project sight… or at least what was left of it. The wind came from all directions and swirled around an old woman with long brunette hair. The woman had a crazed look in her eyes as she began to levitate into the air. The five teenagers and kids; David, Remy, Xing, Matilda and Cammy; had to be careful not to lose their balance as the winds attempted to buffet them around.

"You have made a big mistake by coming here!" The woman said as she rose above them.

"Please," Xing said putting her hands out while trying to stay on her feet, "we want no trouble!"

The wind had picked up speed, howling in strength. "Well you've found it!" The woman said as she raised her hands above her head. It began with a single crackle of electricity and then electricity began building up between his hands. The rebellious strands of electricity leaked out from the woman's palms, giving the environment around her a taste of the power she was building up. "You will all burn!"

David realised that this woman meant to kill them all as evident by the violent energy that she was gathering. "No," he said as he saw Cammy struggling to hang on against the strong winds. His instinct to protect his group kicked in. "No!" He shouted again as he thrust his arms out and from there a wall of shimmering air blasted out heading for the woman.

The wave hit the levitating woman and she fell back, downwards causing the energy she was gathering in her hands dissipated harmlessly. She fell through the roof of the cabin but the aged wood could not take her weight and she crashed through, making a sizeable hole in the ceiling.

David looked at his hands. It had happened again. He had used his ability again and he was not sure how. They were all on the ground and he was the first one to rise to his feet. "Is everyone okay?"

"I'm okay." Xing said as she walked over to Matilda and Cammy.

"I think we're alright." Matilda said as Xing was helping her and Cammy up.

David nodded. "Wait… where is Remy?"

A rustling bush answered his question. David looked towards the direction of the bush and saw Remy's head implanted into the bush, which rustled again as Remy tried to speak from it. David helped him up and his face out of the bush.

"Of all the places I could land in the desert, I land in a bush," Remy complained as he removed twigs from his face and frilly hair. "Where's the crazy lady?"

"She crashed in there." David said nodding to the cabin.

"Should we run away?" Cammy asked as the girls approached them being led by Xing.

David gazed at the cabin with a thoughtful look on his face. "Well, she hasn't come out and attacked us again."

"Maybe she's knocked out." Remy said.

"Yes, or maybe…" David could not bring himself to consider the other option, especially if it meant he was responsible for it. "I'm going to check; you guys stay here." He walked off to the cabin.

David arrived at the entrance of the cabin, bracing himself as he prepared to enter. He took a sharp intake of breath then pushed the door open. The cabin was quiet and the sun streamed in from the old roof with the newly made hole. The woman who had attacked them was on the floor, facing up with eyes closed.

David slowly and carefully made his way to the woman. He wanted to check if she was still alive. Although her being dead would be good for them, he did not like the thought that he may have killed someone and was therefore torn between what he wanted this woman to be. He reached for her neck with a shaky hand. A big party of him was scared that she would wake up and kill him, therefore he was careful, if not reluctant, as he reached to feel her pulse. When his hand was inches away from her neck there was a loud bang causing David jumped back with a start. He looked back and saw that it was Remy who had caused the sound by carelessly opening the door and allowing it to swing and hit the outside wall.

"Remy, I thought I told you to stay outside!" David whispered angrily.

"The girls were getting worried and as the only guy I was forced to check up on you." Remy said.

David sighed as he tried to get his heart beating normally again. He reached out again and felt the woman's pulse. He could feel it beating strongly against her skin and into his fingers. "She's still alive."

"Well that's bad for us." Remy said. "I guess we better get the girls and leave before she gets up and goes all 'You've-come-to-your-death' on us again."

David shook his head. "We have nowhere to go. I think we should tie her up until we figure out what to do next."

"We don't have any rope..." Remy said before David walked over to the mattress on the floor that was next to the magazines and newspapers they had found earlier. He overturned the mattress and began ripping it apart into long pieces of cloth.

"If we don't have a rope, we'll just have to make one." David said as he quickly worked.

Remy saw pages of magazines flying form under the mattress when David overturned it. He walked to them and saw that they had been ripped out of the magazines they had found earlier. Upon closer inspection he noticed one name appeared in all the magazine ripped out pieces, "Petreli."

"What?" David said not stopping his task.

"These ripped out pages are about the Petrelis… whoever they are." Remy looked at the article. "They seem to be important. Nathan Petreli, head of the Senate dies of recurring injuries sustained during assassination attempt. Peter Petreli to head Super Police. Expos on the Petrelis." Remy read out the headlines of the pages. "They must be big stuff."

David walked over to him and looked at one of the magazines he was holding. "Petrelis vs Kardashians." He read one of the headlines. "It's probably tabloid junk, Remy. Help me tie the crazy lady up." David said tossing the page away.

Remy shrugged and put the pages down while helping David tie up their new prisoner.

/

A new day began and the Petreli twins got even more settled in into the Petreli Family Mansion. Simon explored the mansion. Every new room was like finding a treasure. The mansion was bigger than his mother's impressive penthouse and way bigger than his dorm room at the boarding school he and his brother attended.

"Simon?" Simon heard his brother's voice call his name through the big mansion.

"I'm coming!" Simon said running through from room to room trying to find his brother. "I'm coming!" He shouted again as he tried to find his way through the huge house. He suddenly stopped. "Uhm… where are you?"

"Don't tell me you were lost." Monty said from behind Simon, which startled him.

Simon turned around to face his brother who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded. He had a disapproving look on his face.

"Of course I was not lost!" Simon said trying to look calm.

Monty slowly shook his head. "I can't believe you're the older twin," he said before leading the way.

Simon caught up to him until they walked side by side.

"So, is breakfast ready?" Simon said rubbing his belly.

"Mhm, Granma has the chefs working at full capacity." Monty said as he walked to the dinning room. "I think we're going to eat food we've never eaten before."

They got to the dining room where Angela Petreli was waiting for them along with a small collection of food and servants waiting buy to serve them. Simon and Monty's eyes widened at the amount and variety of food presented to them.

"Please, sit boys." Angela urged them.

Simon and Monty sat at the table forming a triangle to where Angela sat. Angela clapped her hands and the servants began dishing up the food. Simon and Monty earnestly dug into their food. For them, eating had become a dull affair over the years as they had tasted almost every kind of food and could get anything they wanted. However, their grandmother had good taste and the food that she presented them with was exceptional.

"Now calm down boys." Angela said calmly sipping tea. "Your breakfast isn't going to run away."

"Sorry grandma." Monty said with a half full mouth.

"And don't forget your manners." Angela said.

"Sorry grandma." Simon said with a full mouth.

Angela smiled to herself as the boys regained their composure. "I hope you guys are ready for an outing with me."

"An outing?" Monty asked. "What kind?"

"I want to take you on a tour of the city, true tourist style." Angela said.

"That sounds fun!" Simon said. "When do we start?"

"As soon as you finish breakfast."

/

Matilda snuck out of the cabin, careful not to wake any other of the kids or teenagers. They had all been exhausted from the day's events and decided to rest. She stepped out of the run down cabin they had decided to inhabit. The wind blew the sand and her hair about but gave the dry air a cooling effect. An effect she welcomed. She was still in her snug pyjamas which did made her temperature even higher in the arid environment.

She looked across from their run down cabin to the only cabin still left standing, the cabin that had the crazy woman who attacked her. Instead of fear of the woman in the cabin, she felt curiosity. What do murderous and crazy women who can fly do when they are not being watched, she wondered to herself. David had labelled the cabin a 'no go zone' but that only made her want to investigate it and its occupant even more.

She began walking across to the other cabin. She raised herself on to her toes to peek into the window of the cabin. In the room she saw the woman with her back resting on a far corner and her head drooped down in unconsciousness. Around her body were coils of cloth that ensured that she was bound.

A peek in the window did nothing to quell her curiosity. She had to get closer to her. She went to the entrance and quietly opened the door while keeping on the figure at corner. Her body did not stir, only the steady rising and falling of her chest as she breathed in and out was the only sign of life. She snuck closer to her, cringing every time she unwittingly made a noise.

She was now close to the woman, analysing her face which was slightly hidden by her unkempt long greying hair. Matilda could not help smile at herself for finding a kindred spirit. Although she had beautiful long red hair, she hated the work of maintaining its curliness and cleanness. This woman seemed let her hair be. She looked at her face which had deep lines of wrinkles from old age and the harsh desert sun on her skin.

The woman's eyes suddenly flew open and she was looking at Matilda! Matilda was so startled by this that she fell back and stared back at the woman in wide eyes of shock and horror. There was a look of madness in the older woman's eyes but it slowly faded into a look of confusion.

"Matilda?" She said.

Matilda's heart skipped a beat at hearing her name at the crazy woman's lips. "How... how do you know my name?"

"No, it can't be you." The woman said. "Angela is doing this. I know you're doing this somehow Angelaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" The woman screamed as a howling wind came into the cabin, opening doors and breaking whatever windows were left.

Matilda was frozen in place by her fear. She stared at the woman as she got more and more unhinged and the freakish wind picked up strength. Chairs were being thrown around and there were small sparks of lightning crackled ever so often around the cabin. Matilda closed her eyes shut hoping that the scene before her would pass. Suddenly she felt two strong arms pick her up and she hugged her body to the chest of her rescuer as she was carried out of the cabin.

David put Matilda down on the ground once they were away from the cabin. "Are you okay?" David asked.

She nodded.

"What were you doing in there" He shouted. "I said no one was to enter that place for good reason!"

Matilda began crying from the fearful experience and from being shouted at. "I'm… I'm sorry." She said hiding her watery eyes with her forearm.

"Gees, cut her some slack, David." Remy said covering her in his arms.

"Sorry," Xing said at the sobbing girl.

David sighed and looked back at the cabin as the winds around it began to calm down. He needed to do something about this situation or they would all end up dead.

/

Kyle Bennett waited for his girlfriend… possible ex-girlfriend in front of class. She appeared walking quickly to class. He walked forward to meet her.

"Hey, you forgot this yesterday." Kyle said handing her bag back to her.

"Thanks," Martha said giving him his.

It felt weird to exchange schoolbags instead of a hug as per their ritual, a ritual he hated but right now he missed. They kept quiet for an awkward moment and for that moment the silence between them seemed to last a lifetime.

"Martha, about yesterday…" Kyle began but Martha held up her hand.

"It's… okay, Kyle." Martha said.

Kyle knew it was far from okay. She was just avoiding confrontation and leaving things uncertain. He did not want to do that. He wanted to fix things. "Martha I…" The school bell rang, cutting him off. he clenched his fist in frustration. He could not wait until his time would not be dictated by that bell!

"We're late." Martha said walking past him, avoiding eye contact, avoiding physical contact.

He sighed as he turned to watch her walk away. She stopped before she entered the classroom to glance at him before she entered. He sighed and also entered the class his mind not prepared to learn any Geography.

/

One of the stops Angela planned for the boys was a meeting with one of the greatest soccer players in the world, Isaac Mohammedi. The boys looked awestruck when they saw the giant-like man with a short well trimmed beard. He had a friendly face and he smiled as he spoke to them while he lovingly held his wife's hand. The boys were awestruck by the player and Simon could not help but involuntarily squeal when he offered to teach them a few skills. While the boys played, Angela and Isaac's wife found a bench where they could sit and talk while watching them.

"How is your son, Meriam?" Angela asked once she was alone with Meriam.

Meriam was wearing a light purple Hajib and a black dress. "He is okay. He'll be starting Secondary school next year."

"Oh, congratulations!" Angela said.

Monty received a ball pass from Isaac and began running across the grass carefully manoeuvring the ball between his feet. He glanced up at the path he was taking which ended up at the goalpost where his twin brother Simon was standing guard.

"However, I am more worried about _your_ son, Ms Petreli." Meriam said turning her head away from the boys playing to look at Angela.

"Oh? There is nothing to worry about." Angela said as the Monty got closer to the goalpost but having picked up a lot of speed.

"According to the news, he's starting a new Company?" Meriam said.

Monty got closer to the goalie and slowed down in order to aim his shot.

"Yes, he is." Angela said as Simon grounded himself, prepared to block his brother's shot at goal. "I think it is a good idea, especially if its lead by him."

"I'm just worried." Meriam said just as Monty pulled back his leg and shot it forward to kick the ball at the target. "I see all the good the last incarnation of The Company did but I cannot forget the evil it did either."

Simon desperately dived for the speeding ball but missed it by inches as it passed him and hit the back of the net.

"Evil?" Angela said. "I don't view anything that the last incarnation of the Company did as evil. Everything we did was for the benefit of people like me and your husband and the rest of people on Earth."

Meriam sighed, obviously not agreeing with Angela but reluctant to pursue the conversation any further.

"Has your son manifested yet?" Angela asked. Monty was celebrating his goal and he stopped to look back at his brother who was sitting on the grass, cradling his knee. He ran to him to find out what's wrong.

"No and I hope he never does." Meriam said. "I'm afraid now that the world knows about people with powers, they'll look more closely at my husband and my family. It's already bad enough that we're Muslims living in America but if people knew about my husband, it would make our lives worse."

"My son will be able to protect you," Angela said squeezing the woman's hand reassuringly. "And if he fails, I will."

Monty reached his brother. "You okay, Simon?" He asked.

"Yeah," Simon said sounding pained. "I think I just over did it a bit." He said opening his hands which he had placed on his raised right knee. His knee was bleeding from a flesh wound he obtained while diving for the ball.

"Ouch, that looks… painful." Monty said leaning down to get a better look.

While Monty was kneeling down, their arms touched and Monty felt a sharp pain in his right knee that made him stand up quickly. He looked at the source of the pain and saw that an injury exactly like his brother's had appeared over his own knee!

Simon also saw this and they exchanged looks of worry and fear before they heard Isaac asking them if they were okay. Monty shook his head subtly at Simon and Simon understooid what he was saying.

"Yeah, we're okay." Simon said getting up and ignoring the pain and the strange event.

They said their goodbyes to the great soccer player and his wife and went on to finish the day.

/

Kyle was sitting at home as the day drew to an end. His mother and current husband were preparing for their date night which meant that they would be leaving him alone in the house. Nora Bennett rushed down the stairs to her husband and son who were waiting for her at the door.

"Okay, Kyle, we're leaving." Nora said to her son as she dug through her handbag to make sure she had everything she needed. "You have my numbers right?"

"Yes mom." Kyle answered.

"And Mark's"

"Yes mom."

"And…"

"Mom, this isn't the first time you leave me alone." Kyle said smiling. "I'll be okay and the house will still be standing when you get back… promise."

Nora smiled. "Awe, my little boy's all grown up." She said before kissing his forehead.

"Enjoy yourself on your date." Kyle said. He nodded when Mark raised his hand in farewell.

A few minutes later he flopped on the couch where his bag lay and opened it. He switched on the television while getting out his book to study.

Mr. Muggles, the family pet, jumped on the couch and sat beside him. He occasionally caressed his soft fur while the dog was focused on the flashing images on the television screen.

He opened his book and to his surprise saw well detailed notes that he did not make. Recognising the hand writing as Martha's, he smiled to himself. _Even when she's mad at me, she wants to helps me. I love that girl._ Kyle suddenly froze as he replayed his thoughts. "I… love that girl." He repeated to himself out loud which made Mr. Muggles look at him. "You hear that Mr. Muggles, I love her!" Mr. Muggles barked in response. Kyle got up and fetched his mobile phone. He called Martha as he realised that he needed to tell her that he loved her.

The call was about to get through before there was a knock on the door. He sighed in disappointment and noticed that Martha's phone had not begun ringing yet. He ended the call before it got through and settled to call her again after he found out who was at the door.

As he walked to the door Mr. Muggles followed him. He guessed it must be his mother and Mark coming back for something they had forgotten. However, he opened the door, there was neither Mark nor his mother but instead there was a man with short jelled up black hair and side burns, a brown jacket and blue jeans. He had a charming and cocky smile on his face.

"Can I help you?" Kyle asked slightly confused.

"I'm looking for Noah Bennett." The man said.

"My dad?" Kyle asked sounding between confused and outraged. "My father doesn't live here. He doesn't even visit here, so you have the wrong house!" Kyle swung the door closed but at the last moment the man blocked the door and pushed into the house. "Hey, you can't just come in here," Kyle said following the man into the kitchen, "get out!"

"Shut up kid, I'm a friend of your father's" the man said. "My name is Thompson."

"Well I'm glad for you, now get out!"

"Listen to me!" Thompson said while closing the distance between Kyle and himself which made Kyle scared. "Someone real bad is looking to draw your father out by attacking the people he loves."

"Me? Sorry to inform you pal but my father doesn't love me. If he did he's at least call me once in a while."

"Well nonetheless, if you're a Bennet, you're in danger." Thompson said. "I'm here to protect you guys."

"From who?" Just as Kyle said that someone walked into the house. He had a black overcoat with a black sweater and jeans.

"Well that was easy." He said looking at Kyle and Thompson. "Now, which one of you should I kill first?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"You're burning my house?!" Kyle said outraged.

"Yes," Thompson said nonchalantly as he walked beside him. He tore the curtains off the rails and laid them on top of the couch and the carpet. He smashed the bottle of vodka he had been carrying on the curtain and threw his lit lighter on it. A plume of fire came out of the curtain and quickly enveloped everything under it.

"No!" Kyle said running to put the fire out.

Thompson grabbed him which caused Mr. Muggles to growl threateningly.

"Let it go, kid." Thompson said, holding Kyle back.

"Why are you doing this?" Kyle said through clenched teeth. His hand formed a fist while he struggled.

"Think about it kid," Thompson said, "this guy came here to do some serious harm to your family. Do you think he works alone? I can tell you he doesn't and if his friends find out that he not only failed but was killed, they'll send even worse people after you. Do you think your family will survive that? Do you think your mom will be able to handle someone worse than a psycho with fire powers?"

Kyle stopped struggling as the words began to sink in.

"I'm sorry kid but if you want to keep your family safe, you'll have to burn your family's home and for everyone to think your dead."

Kyle lost all hope as he stopped struggling. Mr. Muggles sensed Kyle's change in energy and began whining before rubbing his head on Kyle's leg.

"All you can do now is try to save anything you can't replace." Thompson said. "Family photos, important documents, stuff like that."

Minutes later Thompson and Kyle stood a little away from his now burning home. It lit the night air a fiery orange while the people of the neighbourhood gathered to view the spectacle. Kyle held a sadly whining Mr. Muggles in his hands. Kyle remembered one of the last things he said to his mother ' _I'll be okay and the house will still be standing when you get back… promise_.' It looks like he failed to keep his promise.

/

"David. David." Remy shook David awake.

David began stirring and wiped some drool off of his cheek. "Remy? What?"

"Xing… she's… she's gone."

David shot up to a sitting position. He looked around the broken down cabin they were sleeping in. he scanned around for Xing and could not find her. "Maybe she woke up early and went out for some air?"

"I don't think so. I'm usually the first one of the group to wake up." Remy said.

David sighed as he thought on what to do. Xing was adamant about leaving and trying to find Angela Petreli and he had no doubt that is what she had done. David went outside and looked around but he knew she would not be there.

"What do we do?" Remy asked. "Should we go after her?"

"I would not even know where to go." David said. "Why did you do this Xing?" David said to himself. He looked to the side to the cabin that had the woman who had tried to attack them. Only one person knew more out this world than they did and that person was not sound of mind.

/

Xing was walking through the desert. She was approaching the top of a rocky incline. She hoped to see a human settlement on the other side of the incline. Once she got on top she gave a squeaky whine as all she saw was more desert landscape. Xing fell to her knees. She had sorely underestimated what tracking the desert would require of her. She had walked till the sunrise with no supplies, whether it be food or water. All she had were the clothes on her back and she began sorely regretting her impulsive decision.

Xing looked back, tempted to head for the camp where she left her fellow comrades. "Bu shi!" She said to herself before stubbornly walking on. She would get out of the desert; she would find Angela Petreli and she would convince her to help her and her friends. At least, that is what she told herself as she trudged on in the sand.

/

Nora was wailing as she stared at the burnt structure that used to be her house. Her spouse had placed his arms around her in an attempt to comfort her while they spoke to the fireman whoa was part of the crew that was able to put the fire out.

"My son, Kyle Bennett, where is he?" Nora asked after regaining some composure.

The fireman hesitated before he spoke. "I'm sorry ma'am, we found a body burnt beyond recognition. We believe it may be your son."

Nora lost all bodily control as her knees began wobbling and she fell down on the tar road. Tears began welling up in her eyes. She bit her lip and held back for she needed to be strong now. "What… What was the cause of the fire?" She asked looking down at the tar road.

The fireman kept quite as he tried to formulate how he was going to word his response.

"Answer me!" She said.

"Our forensic specialists see a lot of signs that it may be arson." The fireman said.

"You mean someone did this on purpose?" Mark asked.

The fireman nodded. "If any of you have anymore questions I'll be with the other personnel." The fireman said leaving the couple.

Mark did not know what to say as he sank to the ground to comfort Nora. "This is Noah's fault." She said to no one in particular.

"You're ex-husband?" Mark questioned.

Nora nodded. "He has been involved in bad things for a long time. I know this is connected to him and if I'm right, I'll never forgive him."

/

Eddie was sitting behind the counter of the store. It was an unusual quiet day for the store, he wondered if maybe it was his fault. He noted that he had been shifting his weight nervously while hoping for a customer. He could not help but glance nervously at his boss's office. He was surprised that his usually mean employer had not fired him yet.

"Please," He whispered to himself. "Someone please come in." Eddie was a 20 year old with short black hair. He had dark green eyes and wore a red apron which was the uniform and a hat which he thought was stupid.

He looked hopefully at the door as its bell rang when two people came in. Eddie frowned at the new people who entered. Not only did he not know them but they were young, maybe as young as he was. It was a girl and a boy. The boy had on a black hood and blue jeans. He stopped when he entered Eddie and looked at him, as if he was sizing Eddie up. Eddie grabbed his shoulder self-consciously. The boy gave a smirk before moving on deeper into the store. The girl with him was wearing all black with blue eyeliner, lipstick and messy black hair. Unlike the boy, she did not bother looking at him and just followed him deeper in the store.

Eddie had the instinct to follow them and insure that they would not shop lift but he decided against it. He sat down in a disappointed huff. Eddie guessed that they would probably buy some junk food and then leave. Eddie saw his short balding boss come for him which made him stand to attention. "Mr. Claude!" Eddie said.

"Eddie," Mr. Claude said, with a scowl on his face, "people have not come in for two days now."

Eddie sighed as he could already sense where this conversation was going. "Maybe things will pick up after people get their pay cheques." Eddie said, trying to sound hopeful.

"I don't think so." He said looking at the doors that served as the entrance to the store. "I'm losing too much profit."

"Please sir," Eddie pleaded. "I need this job."

"I'm sorry Eddie but today is your last day." Mr. Claude said. "Get your paycheck at the end of the day."

Eddie felt deflated after that. He threw himself on the chair, no longer caring if his soon to be ex-employer saw him. He saw the goth girl looking at him and she quickly look away and walked on. _Had she been listening in?_ He asked himself. _Great another person got to see me fired._

The door bell ringed again as someone else entered. Eddie did not bother to look at who else had come in.

"Well well, I couldn't believe but I guess its true," Eddie heard the newcomer say.

He already knew who the voice belonged to and sighed sadly. "What do you want, John?" Eddie said looking at John and his two friends.

"I want a cigarette, freak." John said slamming his hands on the counter.

Eddie got up and took a cigarette from a shelf and gave it to him.

John looked disgusted at the item placed in front of him. "I don't want this one?" John said taking the cigarette and breaking it apart.

Eddie looked outraged at John's actions. "You'll have to pay for that!" Eddie said.

"Make me, freako!" John said as he took a stick of gum from the counter.

"Hey, you can't…" Eddie reached out for the gum in hopes of snatching it from his hands.

"Don't touch me!" John said as he punched him in the face.

Eddie fell back on his seat and touched his nose to see blood on his finger. Eddie looked towards Mr. Claude's office and he saw the man just looking at the situation. _Why is he just there doing nothing? Doesn't he see what these guys are doing to me?_ Eddie thought to himself. John put the gum in his mouth and began chewing loudly. "What you going to do freak?"

Eddie could feel his blood begin to boil. His skin began looking fairer than normal, then it began to glow!

"Huh… it's happening, the freak is lighting up!" One of the boys said pointing and laughing at him.

Eddie was getting noticeably brighter. He looked at his luminous hands and closed his eyes shut and breathed in deeply trying to control himself. Soon the glow began to fade.

"Aw! Little freak isn't going to light up?" John taunted before grabbing Eddie's hair.

"Leave him alone," A voice said from behind the group.

John looked back and saw the boy that had come in earlier standing behind them while the goth girl leaned against a shelf just behind. "Stay out of this, unless you also want to get a beating."

"You guys try to beat me?" The boy said wiggling his fingers in anticipation. "Try it."

"Are you deaf?" One of John's friends said approaching him.

The boy thrust his hand out and a wave of red energy leapt from his fingers to the approaching boy. The boy's chest was burnt as his clothes smouldered off his chest. John's friend fell on the ground where he rolled in pain.

"He's also one of the freaks!" Another of John's friends shouted before trying to escape. He was suddenly stopped when he felt a pressure all around his body, crushing him. The boy aimed his hand at him and shot out and hit the boy, flooring him too.

"No one's going anywhere," The boy said confidently.

John let go of Eddie and was suddenly stopped cold by a mysterious pressure crushing him from all sides. John let out a moan as he was forced to his knees. He saw the goth girl had raised a hand at his direction and everytime she closed it, the force around his body increased. The other boy who had burned his friends approached him smiling. He opened his palm and it lit up with the red burning energy.

"Please… please don't hurt me." John pleaded.

"I love it when you tough guys beg." The boy said as he brought his palm closer to his face. "But begging won't help you now. I'm going to melt your skin off your skull."

Eddie looked on at the unfolding scene with wide eyes. He did not know what to do. He wanted to hurt John for what he did to him but melting his face off seemed too extreme. He should stop this; he wanted to stop this but was frozen in place as the other boy brought his dangerous hand ever closer to John who looked away in fear and in anticipation for the coming pain.

A gunshot stopped the horrible events that were happening before him. He looked to his side and saw that Mr. Claude had gotten his gun and shot a bullet in the air. "You all better get out of here, now!" The shop owner said pointing the gun at them. The goth girl released John who gratefully fell on the floor while she and her companion ran out of the store. Mr. Claude then turned his gun at Eddie, "I said go!"

"What?" Eddie said. "But I…"

Mr. Claude cocked his gun which caused Eddie to burst into action. He jumped over the counter and ran out of the store. He got out to the pavement where he ripped the apron off of him and ran as fast as he could until finally his legs gave out and he crumbled on the pavement floor. He was so focussed on regaining his breath that he did not notice a car pull by his side.

"That was fun, huh?" Eddie looked up and saw the boy who had run out of the store in the car. Next to him was the goth girls. "My name is Luke," he said, "you want a ride?"

"A ride?" Eddie repeated angrily. "Do you know what you guys did?"

"We helped you," Luke said.

"No you did not!" Eddie said before jogging away from the car. "Leave me alone, you freaks!" He screamed over his shoulder.

/

David breathed in and drew his hands back towards his body. He then exhaled while thrusting his hands out, a wall of air rushed forward and displaced the dust in front of him forward in a wave.

"Whoah! That's impressive!" Remy said. "When did you learn to do that?"

David looked at his hands. "I guess I always knew how to but I just did not know how to control it."

"Now you can?" Matilda asked.

David smiled and looked at the three who had assembled to see him practice. "I guess now that I need to control it, I've learned to do it better."

"Why are you practicing anyway?" Remy asked.

David turned to them, which was easy as they were sitting in a line. "As you all now know, Xing is gone. I've decided that we should go after her…" At that the group erupted in cheers but David kept his serious mood. "I don't think we'll be able to find her without help, so I'll need to speak to the crazy lady and ask for her help." David said looking at the cabin where their prisoner was.

"What?" Remy said. Matilda was shaking visibly. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"We don't have any other choice. If we try to trek this desert without help… well I don't even want to think about it. That's why we need her help." David said as he walked towards the cabin. "I might as well get this over and done with."

David was stopped when a small pair of hands grabbed his. He looked down to see Cammy stare up at his with pleading eyes. "Please don't go in there David. I don't want that lady to hurt you."

David smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Cammy, I'll be fine." He said gently frrieng himself from her grip and walking to the cabin.

He entered the cabin and the woman who was in there looked up at him. "Spies of Angela, what do you want?" She screeched at David.

"I want you to help me find a friend of mine." David confidently said as he strode in closer to her.

"Why would believe I would help scum like you?" She said with crazed eyes.

"Please, she's out there in the world trying to find Angela…"

"What? That's even more reason why I would never help you," The woman shouted. "I hope your friend dies!"

David clenched his fists. He could not fail; he had to help Xing no matter what the cost. "Listen to me lady, if you won't help me, I'll make you!"

She clenched her teeth as she closed her eyes. "You… come to my home, tie me up and then think you can get me to do what you want me to do!" As she said this the wind in the room picked up and there was crackling electricity coming from her. The electricity singed her bonds enough for her measly strength to break through them, which she did with a triumphant scream. She stood up as random strikes of electricity filled the room along with a strengthening wind. "I will no longer tolerate your evil. Prepare to meet your maker, underlings of Angela!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

David was in the cabin with a woman who could summon a hurricane with a thought. He was beginning to regret his decision to try and reason with her. The woman's hair fluttered around her as the wind in the cabin grew unbearable.

"I don't want to fight you!" David shouted over the roaring winds. "I just want your help!"

"I would never help anyone who is a friend of Angela!" She said.

"We're not friends of ahhhhhh!" David was swept off his feet and sent slamming around the cabin clockwise. He spiralled up the cabin walls as the wind threw him around like a rag doll. He was able to grab onto a part of the wall to stop his movement but a surge of electricity passed through him causing him to let go. The wind eventually stopped and he dropped to the ground like a stone. He was crawling to the door desperate to escape. "Why… why are you so afraid of Angela?"

"I am not afraid of her! I hate her!" She said as she advanced on him. "She abandoned me here when I was young! She was my sister and she betrayed me!"

David stopped at this and turned to look at her while he shuffled for the door. "Why did you not tell her that?"

"I did! I did." She said more quietly as the winds died down. "But she did not understand. She did not know how painful it was to be the one who…" She clenched her fists as the wind grew stronger.

"Then find her, help us find her and make her understand," David said.

"You mean summon a storm around her that will destroy everything she owns and loves?"

"Well… Uhm…"

"Your right, that is what I will do." She said.

David was unsure if he should dissuade her but for now, he had her cooperation and he accepted it., even if it was on twisted bases. "Good. We'll need you to lead us to her and hopefully that will lead us to our friend."

She turned her back to him as he looked out. "The outside world is a dangerous place," she said. "That is why I retreated to this place and seldom leave." She suddenly turned to him. "You will have to protect me form the outside world. You will have to protect me!"

"I will," David said partially stunned by her raising her voice.

Remy, Matilda and Cammy were all waiting outside for David. They had heard screaming and shouting and powerful winds and then… nothing. The door opened and they all hoped that their friend David would walk out and to their surprise that is who walked out.

Cammy ran to him when she saw him and Remy and Matilda did the same. They all hugged him in a group hug, laughing and cheering. "Gees, you guys act like you didn't expect me to survive," David said partly laughing.

"We didn't!" Remy detached form him and patted him hard on the back.

David smiled at him. "Well, we have a new member to our group." David said turning around and gesturing to the elder woman coming out of the cabin. "This is Ms Shaw. She'll be helping us."

"No," the woman said. "People call me Alice."

/

Eddie walked home when the sun had dropped over the horizon. He stopped when he saw the familiar flashing lights of the police in front of his house. He dove behind a bush as he spied the events. Some of his neighbours had also come out to look on as the police spoke to his mother and father. Eddie's heart began beating quickly. _Had Mr. Claude really called the cops on me? Even though I did nothing wrong?_ Eddie angrily thought to himself. He waited until the police left his home and the neighbours dispersed.

Eddie jogged through the streets to his house where he used his key to enter. He walked into the kitchen and startled both his parents.

"Relax, its only me." Eddie said.

"What the hell have you done Eddie?" Eddie's father said. "Why are the police telling us that you and your evo friends were attacking some boys with your powers?"

"I did not even know you had friends with powers." His mother added.

"It's a lie mom, I don't have any friends!" Eddie said and it was the truth. Ever since the community had gotten word that he had powers, everyone stayed away from him, including all his former friends. That was the reason why no one wanted to buy from the store he was working in.

"No… well not exactly." Eddie said which made his mother gasp. "I was there and two other people with powers were attacking the boys but I had nothing to do with it! Ask Mr. Claude!"

"Mr. Claude is the one who called the police and supported their story!" His father said.

"That pensioning bastard!" Eddie said shaking his fist which caused her mother to gasp in shock again.

"Why has this power changed my baby boy," she said crying into her husband's shirt.

"Mom, the power did not change me, it just changed everyone else." Eddie said sitting down opposite her. "Everyone seems to be turning on me now. I'll go to the police and straighten everything out."

"No, that won't work." Eddie's father said. "We've seen the news on how people with powers have been treated. I think it would be safer for you lay low for a while until everything blows over."

"So I'll have to stay in the house?" Eddie whined.

"No, this will be the first place they'll look for you." He said. "You'll need to leave town."

"What? Where will I go?"

"My brother could probably take you in for some time." His mother said.

"Why do I have to leave town because of some bigots!" Eddie whined.

"We're sorry son but for now, it's the best solution for a bad situation." His father told him patting him on the shoulder. "Now go pack some of your clothes. I'll take you to a bus station."

Eddie walked off to his room. He could feel it in his bones, that he would never return to his town if he ever left. None of this would ever blow over.

/

Xing was walking through the desert. The night had given her some reprieve but she was still cold, hungry and most importantly, dehydrated. She decided to sit on down against one of the few thin trees in the arid landscape. She breathed easy as she stared up at the starry sky. She was still not used to seeing so many stars in the sky. Back in her home country, only the brightest stars would shine through but in the relative clean desert air, they all could shine brightly.

Her stomach growled, reminding her that now was not the time to be admiring beauty. She needed to find food for she doubted that she would survive another day of heavy trekking without any food or water. She looked back at where she had come. Xing was tempted to go back and she would have if it was not only for one thing… she was lost.

She realised this when during the day her will gave out and she decided to go back to her group, however she quickly realised that simply moving backwards was not helping her find her way. Her journey through the desert had been filled with winding paths and sharp turns and when she saw landmarks that she did not recognised; she realised how dire her situation had become.

With no way to return to her friends she did the only thing she could do, pick direction and walk. She took a deep breath and got on her feet as she began trekking forward again.

/

Eddie had packed a small bag full of clothes. He walked out of his room just before he heard a loud knock on the door of his home. The family froze and his father gestured for him to hide while he answered the door. He walked to the door and opened it to see a policeman standing there.

"Hello?" Eddie's father said.

"Evening sir, we've had a call from your neighbour that they saw your son enter your property." The police officer said. "Is that true?"

"Uh… no?" Eddie's father said which caused his son to slap his forehead. Eddie was remarking how his father was one of the worst liars ever. He decided to take the opportunity to slip out of the house while his father was keeping the officer busy.

Eddie tip toed to the back door opened it and quietly shut it. "Hey! Stop!" A policeman who had also snuck to the back yard ordered him. This sent Eddie into a run. He looked back and saw that the police officer was withdrawing his gun. Eddie jumped over the wall into the neighbour's yard and then out the gate to the street. He looked back to see the police officer hot on his heels. He heard gunshots and looked back to see the officer point his smoking gun at him.

 _They're shooting at me? These guys are treating me like I'm a terrorist!_ He continued running, spurred on by the gunshots. A car pulled up beside him and the door opened.

"Get in!" Luke said.

Eddie did not think; he just wanted to get away. So he dived into the car that drove him to safety from the law.

/

Kyle Bennett was walking behind his mysterious rescuer, Thompson. They were wlaking through the city at night to his 'hideout'. In his arms was the family pet, Mr. Muggles. Thompson looked back over his shoulder at him, "keep up kid!"

"My name is not kid," he said as he quickened the pace to catch up, "its' Kyle."

"Then hurry up, Kyle." Thompson corrected. "I don't know why you brought that mutt along…" At that Mr. Muggles barked, "its slowing you down."

"I told you he kept following me," Kyle said.

"Then you should have given it a good kick," Thompson said. "A good kick will teach any dog to listen."

Kyle shook his head, "You are sick!"

Thompson smiled at this, "comes with the job."

"Comes with the job? When you came to my house you said you were looking for my father, Noah Bennett. Are you in the same line of work as he is?"

"Perceptive little brat aren't you? We used to work for the same _company_ but now… no." Thompson said. "I was hoping to find him when I found out that some old _friends_ of his had targeted him for some payback."

"And by friends you mean people he bagged and tagged." Kyle said.

"Kid, you keep impressing me," Thompson said. "You are your father's son."

Kyle snorted at that comment. "Don't remind me."

"Do I sense some animosity towards your old man?"

"Yes. I once had a pretty good relationship with my father, even when he made me feel like I was his second favourite to his other daughter."

"Ha, your famous Ferris Wheel jumping sibling." Thomspon said.

"Yes, but ever since some radiation guy attacked us and we found out about Claire's powers, I've been second fiddle." Kyle bitterly said. "That was made only worse when he and my mom got divorced."

"Don't be so hard on your old man, Kyle." Thompson said as he got to his destination and dug out the keys form his pocket. "The job and the want to protect who you love can drive you away from other people who love you. I should know, my father was a Company man too."

"He was?" Kyle said as they entered the building. The entrance was barred by a strong sliding gate and an upwards sliding door. The area inside was a small with a singular room that doubled as everything.

"Yes, Thompson Snr."

Kyle gave a short laugh. "Wait, your Thompson Jnr?"

Thompson looked at him which made Kyle stifle his laugh. "Sorry."

"Make yourself at home kid." Thompson said as he fetched a bag.

Kyle bent down and let Mr. Muggles walk on his own two little feet. "How long will I be staying here?"

Thompson went to a safe and entered the numbers for it to open. Kyle spotted a few guns in the big safe. "For a while." Thompson said as he moved what seemed to be parts of an AK-47 into his bag.

"How long is a while?" Kyle asked.

Thompson produced his mobile phone and handed it over to Kyle. Kyle red the screen and saw the reports of his death. "I'm dead!"

"Trust me, that's a good thing." Thomspon said as he put a hand gun into the bag and zipped it up. He walked over to Kyle and took his phone from him. "If everyone thinks your dead then whoever sent that person after your family will think he did a good job."

Kyle collapsed onto the only piece of furniture on the space, a couch. "Everyone thinks I'm dead."

"Hopefully this will draw out your father." Thompson said as he headed for the door.

"Shouldn't we find him and warn him?" Kyle asked.

"That's what I'm going to do." Thompson said. "Your going to stay here."

"What?" As Kyle said that, Thompson slid the sliding gate shut. Kyle rushed to it too late. "You can't leave me here Thompson!"

"Sorry kid, you'll only get in the way." Thompson said. "And this is the best way to ensure that you stay dead." He said as he slid down the garage door.

"Thompson! Don't do this!" Kyle screamed as Mr. Muggles joined him with furious barks. "Thompson!" Thompson closed the garage door, trapping Kyle in his new prison and plunging the place in darkness.

/

The morning had come. David and the rest of the group were getting ready to leave the desert. They just waited for Alice who was still in her cabin.

"We've been waiting for hours," Matilda complained. "What is she doing?"

"Should we call her?" Remy asked looking at David.

David was reluctant to push Alice to do anything. She was incredibly powerful and mentally unstable which made her very dangerous. He took a deep breath and gathered his courage. He hoped that Alice would not throw him around with her powers like she has had so many times.

David stepped up to the cabin door and lightly knocked. "Alice?" He softly said. "Alice, we're ready to go."

"I'm afraid." David heard her faintly say on the other side.

 _Is she standing against the door?_ David kept quiet for a moment. "Alice, we have to do this. And remember you won't be alone; I'll be here and the rest of the group will be here. Trust me when I say, its going to be okay."

The door began to open and he stepped back. Alice came out. She had on a long cotton jacket and a dress with red arrow like patterns going down. She had a backpack and a stick to help her travel. "I'm ready," she said.

They began to walk away from the camp until David stopped. "Oh yeah, Xing did not take any supplies when she left. I don't know how she is fairing but I know she would appreciate some water. Could you make it rain in the whole desert?"

Alice stood still and then nodded before raising her head and calling for the rains.

/

Xing was dragging her feet on the sandy ground. Her face was dry and dirty, her lips and shrunk and shrivelled and she was exhausted. He breathing had become very shallow as her body's core temperature had grown to uncomfortable levels.

Her legs began wobbling before she fell forward, face first. She laid there on the ground as he eyes slowly closed shut as her body finally began to give out form the heat, hunger and exhaustion. Her breathing began to slow down as her body began the process of shutting down.

Her brain registered something cool on her skin. Then there were more cool little things on her skin, sliding down her cheek and nose. This caused her eyes to slowly flutter open. For a moment she did not believe what she was seeing and almost dismissed it was a mirage. But it was too real, too cold, too wet to deny. It was raining! Xing found the strength to get on her knees and look up at the rain, allowing it to soak her body and rejuvenate her will to carry on.

After a few handfuls of water, she got up to her feet and continues her walk forward.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Xing suddenly stopped. She narrowed her eyes at the sight a distance from her. There was a black scar on the brown desert floor. It was a road! She smiled as she weakly walked on to the winding path. She reached the tar road and was happy that she had not imagined things.

Xing looked left and right. She had only two paths to go. She began singing a song in Mandurian to help her decide which direction she should take. She pointed to both sides with her finger as she sang and when she stopped singing her finger had stopped in one direction. She nodded to herself before walking in the direction, fate had chosen for her.

/

David and his group were also walking along the same road that Xing had just found, however, they were walking in the opposite direction.

Alice walked ahead as she knew the way, followed by David who held Cammy's hand and would sometimes carry her if she got too tired and Matilda with Remy behind her who would also give Matilda a piggyback ride on the times she became too tired to walk.

"Ms Alice?" Matilda said suddenly.

"It's just Alice," Alice said keeping her eyes on the road ahead.

David looked back at Matilda, pleading for her to stop with his eyes but the fiery haired girl was staring at the ground and so did not see his warning.

"Yeah sorry, Alice." She said. "How did you know my name back there?"

Alice suddenly stopped and David almost crashed into her. She turned around and looked back at the group before focusing her eyes on Matilda.

David squeezed Cammy's hand tighter in anticipation for what Alice may do next. Cammy let out a whining noise and Alice's head shot to her.

"You don't exist," Alice simply said before she continued forward.

David looked at her back in confusion before falling back in step with her. He was happy that the conversation ended without any blood or violent winds.

"What do you mean I don't exist?" Matilda said, shattering David's hope that this was over.

David turned around and gave Matilda an intense look which this time she caught. She was driven to silence by that look alone.

"You're just a crazy thought." Alice said as she trudged on. "You're not really here."

Once again the exchange was done and David could breathe a sigh of relief. He could have sworn he had felt the wind pick up a little but it quickly died down with her answer. Now hopefully they could continue the journey in relative silence.

"Wait, you believe Matilda doesn't exist? That's stupid." Remy said from the rear.

David held back a moan. _Were they trying to get them all killed?_

"Yes," she said. "You're desert mirages."

"Well I'm not an illusion." Remy said, oblivious to what David's murderous look meant. "Neither is Matilda. We're all really here. What, you think David is the only real one here?"

"Okay okay," David finally interjected. "We're all real, let's leave it at that please."

"That can't be," Alice said to herself before looking back at them. "When I was young, I knew a girl very much like you… Scottish, red hair and her name was Matilda."

Matilda was quiet for a little while before her eyes went wide. "Alice!" She suddenly said before racing forward to walk beside the older woman. "Now I remember you! You were also back at camp." Matilda looked at the woman who was looking back at her while they trekked through the hot desert. She noted her sun kissed wrinkled skin, her long frilly grey hair and her aged appearance. "But back then you were younger. You were very nice to me. You told me you were also scared."

Alice's eyes went wide and she came to a halt. "How is this possible? How are you here?"

"We are all from the Coyote Sands project." David said. "There was a huge storm and we were caught in it and then… we found ourselves here… in the future."

Alice gulped before she resumed her walk. The group looked at each other worriedly. David was worried how the unstable woman would take it. He decided not to think on it for too long before they followed suite and continued on through the desert.

/

Simon and Monty had just finished their lunch. Today was quiet day, which they felt slightly disappointed at. Their grandmother, Angela Petreli had some business to take care of but would be coming back.

"What do you think is the business that grandma has?" Simon asked. "Isn't she retired?"

"She is." Monty said. "I think she just wants to get away from you."

"Why me and not you?" Simon said in good humour but Monty did show signs that he was joking when he said his last statement.

"Maybe it has to do with what happened the other night." Monty said. "Maybe she knows about you."

"Me?" Simon said looking around before continuing in a whisper. "What do you mean she knows about me?"

"I saw how scared you looked when that man… when that man at the party mentioned people with powers." Monty said, his voice also dropping to a whisper.

"Are you accusing me of… of being one of _them_?" Simon asked.

"Well how do you explain what happened when we were playing soccer?" Monty asked.

"I don't know. You're the one that touched me! Maybe you should explain." Simon whispered, as he began uncannily losing his cool.

"Are you saying that I used a power to hurt myself?" Monty asked his voice getting more aggressive.

"Yes!"

"Well a power that hurts the user is stupid." Monty said. He kept quiet before leaning forward. "You're the one who has powers and I can prove it!"

"How?"

Monty looked around and took a knife that he had been using to eat his lunch. "I'm going to hurt myself and then touch you. If you get hurt then that means I have the powers and if nothing happens that means you have the powers."

Simon was quiet for a moment. "I don't want you to hurt your…" Simon gasped as Monty ran the sharp edge of the knife over his finger, drawing a line of blood.

"Lets' do this." Monty said as he put his other hand on the table.

Simon gulped as he placed his own hand on the table.

Their hands slowly and timidly slid closer. Closer and closer still. Soon their fingers would be touching and it would be decided who had the powers. When their fingers were inches away from each other they heard a voice that startled them.

"I'm back boys!" Angela said. She noted the startled reaction of her grandsons. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" They both simultaneously said.

Angela narrowed her eyes at them. "Okay. You two get prepared and we'll visit an old friend of mine and she has a son your age."

"Okay!" They both said less from excitement and more from fear before they ran to their respective rooms to prepare.

Angela was about to dismiss their behaviour as typical secretive teenage behaviour until she picked up a knife they left on the table. She noted what looked like blood at the tip of the knife. Angela looked back worryingly at her grandsons. "What were they doing?"

/

Eddie woke up. He looked around and noticed he was not in his home but in the backseat of a car. The events of yesterday suddenly came back to him. His flight from the police and being saved by Luke and his companion. He got out to see that the car had been parked in a grassy area. The goth girl was sitting cross-legged on the grass.

"Uh… hello?" Eddie said to her.

She nodded in response.

"Where are we?" Eddie said looking around.

"Somewhere safe," The girl said.

"Hey Bell, be careful when you pee in the woods because there's pois…" Luke came in and stopped when he saw Eddie. "Hey, you're up!"

"What is your problem, guy?" Eddie snapped at Luke. "You see what you've done to me? To my life? The cops are now after me!"

"It was bound to happen." Luke said sitting down next to Bell and putting his arm over her.

"What?" Eddie said.

"Look at yourself, Eddie. You glow in the dark. There was no way you were going to have a normal life. Not when everyone knew." Luke said. "I saved you from jail."

Eddie remembered what his father had told him. About how badly people like him were treated. He collapsed onto his knees and held his head. "My life is over! What am I going to do?"

"You could roll with us," Luke offered. "You know? Be with your own kind."

Eddie looked up at them. He was suppose to be going to his uncle far away from here, however, he did not know where he lived and he was reluctant to contact his mother and father in case he got them into any more trouble. And Luke had only acted to protect him so far. "You mean that? You mean you would really take me in."

"Our kind have to stick together." Luke said offering Eddie his hand.

Eddie reached out with his hand and in the last moment he withdrew his hand away, "You're not going to burn me, are you?"

Luke smiled at this. "Don't worry; I have full control of my powers."

Eddie reached out and they shook hands.

"Good. This is Bell." Luke said gesturing to the girl beside her.

"Hello," Eddie nodded to Bell.

"We should get out of here." Luke said getting up. "The cops will be looking for us."

Eddie nodded. "I agree. Should we leave now?" Eddie said pointing at the car.

"Yeah, except for one problem." Bell spoke up. "There is no gas in the car."

"What? So are we going to hike out of this place?" Eddie asked feeling deflated.

"That is a sure fire way to get caught." Luke said. "We need a car if we're going to get out of here and that means we need gas and that means we need money. Do you have any?"

Eddie shook his head.

"Well, lucky for us you know where we can find some cash."

Eddie looked at Luke with a confused look. "No I don't."

"Yes you do." Luke assured him. "Remember the convenience store you worked at?"

"Mr. Claude's store?" Eddie said. He saw Luke's evil smile and he shook his head, "You want us to steal from him?" Luke nodded at this. "I-I can't do that. I can't steal from Mr. Claude."

"Why?" Bell said getting up. She began orbiting around Eddie. "It's not like he has shown any loyalty to you."

"Well he-he was…" Eddie stuttered.

"Yeah," Luke said as he also began to go around Eddie. "He did not even defend you when those bullies came into the store and hit you."

"But he was… he was," Eddie tried to reason.

"Didn't he even chase you off like it was _your_ fault?" Bell said.

"I… I was…" Eddie tried to interject.

"How long did he know you, Eddie?" Luke said. "And how long did it take for him to turn on you when he found out what you were?"

"…"

"So why are you still loyal to him?" Bell said; her black painted lips next to his ear.

Eddie thought about what they said. His mind was trying to fight it, trying to find some reason of not stealing from Mr. Claude but their arguments were winning out. He had felt betrayed and enraged that Mr. Claude treated him the way he did. It was partly his fault that he was even in this situation. He should pay and they should make him pay.

"O-Okay." Eddie said.

Luke smiled at this. "Good. We'll go their tonight and by tomorrow morning, we'll be out of this place."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It was a dark room and there were three figures that were shrouded in darkness. One was seated in a chair with a hoodie on, to further accentuate the shadows hiding his face. The second figure was a chubby man standing in front of the seated man and the third was a slim, female figure with long dark hair.

There was a sudden rattling coming from a door bolted shut in a lock beside the man in the hood.

The female figure looked at the source of the sound and a smile embedded itself on her lips. "You know, you should really do something about her."

"Not that what I do with her is any your business," The man in the hoodie said in a deep voice. "but she is well sedated and is mostly harmless."

"Mostly harmless can still be pretty dangerous… if you're a woman." The female said, her smile getting slightly wider.

"Can we please speak about something other than the prisoner?" The chubby man said, in slight fear.

"Have you found Shaun yet?" The man seated calmly said.

"He seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth." The female said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was out on some kind of drinking spree or in some hotel room half-conscious."

"It could be possible. I mean according to the news, he did successfully kill Kyle Bennet, so maybe he's celebrating." The chubby man said.

"But there's still no sign of Kyle Bennet's father, Noah Bennet." The man in the seat sighed before there was a rattling sound again. He looked at the metal door bolted shut, in deep thought. "I guess we'll continue surveillance until we find him. That means you'll have to go back to the hospital, Karla."

"Oh but…" Karla was about to protest.

"No buts!" The man in the seat silenced her. "And you Marty, keep an eye on the mother."

"Yes… sir." Marty said.

/

The group reached the nearest town with a working bus system. By the time they reached it, it was dark and the busses were no longer running for the rest of the night. They waited around at the empty bus stop.

"I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow," Remy said.

"Yeah but we have other problems." David said, looking at Alice who sat on the ground while fiddling with her dirty hair. "We don't have any money for bus fair."

"I know where we can find money," Alice said getting on her feet.

"Oh, that's great, Alice!" Matilda said. "Let's go!"

"No," David said, putting out his hand to stop Matilda. "I'll go with Alice, the rest of you stay here."

"Awe, why?" Remy was about to complain.

"Remy, I need you to take care of the girls while we're gone." David said to Remy.

Cammy tugged at David's hand, her little hands grabbing onto his dark fingers. "Will you be coming back soon?"

David kneeled down at her and smiled. "Of course I will. You just listen to Remy while I'm gone, okay?"

Cammy nodded.

David got up and looked at Alice. "Lead the way, Alice."

After a few minutes of walking in awkward silence, David and Alice reached a small convenience store at a petrol station.

"We're here," Alice said.

David looked around. "I don't see anything. Where is the money you talked about?" David had wondered where Alice would get the money. Did she have it buried somewhere near by?

"There," Alice pointed to an ATM.

David was surprised at hearing this. He did not expect Alice to save her money in a banking account. He did not think she was that forward thinking.

"Wow, okay." David said nodding slowly. "I guess you should withdraw the money."

Alice nodded and raised her arms.

David looked at her in confusion. "Uhm… Alice what are you doing?"

There was a sound of thunder as storm clouds gathered above the desert.

"Alice, wait… you're not going to…"

Lightning shot from the clouds above and struck the ATM, blowing it apart.

"Alice, you just struck a gas station with lightning!" David said. "Do you know how dangerous that is?"

Alice just stared at David as the fire at the ATM raged on. "You should… collect the money before it burns."

David looked at the flaming petrol station. "I'm not going near that, not with that fire. You should drench it down with rain."

Alice nodded before raising her hands again. The clouds that had gathered above the petrol station burst into raindrops. The fire soon weakened except for a few licks of flames.

"Is that it?" David said, seeing a little orange light.

"Not enough water in the air to make bigger clouds." Alice said.

David groaned before he ran to the station. He stomped the little fires he saw to death before grabbing a handful of bills and running away before the convenience store manager came out.

"Awe man!" The manager shouted. "This is the second time this has happened!"

David ran to where Alice was with cash in his arms. "Okay, I do not feel good about this, so I think we should go."

Alice looked at David running in the distance and followed.

/

From one vandalised convenience stores to another. Eddie, Bell and Luke approached Eddie's former place of work. Bell was holding a 5l container in hand while they ran to the place.

"Okay, Bell, you know what to do." Luke said.

Bell nodded and ran to a station where she began filling up the container while Luke and Eddie approached the store door.

"That's weird. This store never closes." Eddie said.

"What do you expect?" Luke said. "They just lost their best employee."

Eddie could not help but blush at that.

Luke held out his palm to the lock and a wave of radiation came from his palm and melted the lock. They entered the store and closed the door behind them.

"How about giving us some light?" Luke said to Eddie.

"What? I-I can't control my powers yet." Eddie said.

"No time to learn like the present. Just close your eyes and relax."

Eddie did as Luke commanded and closed his eyes.

"Some people struggle to control their powers for different reasons." Luke began. "Some people can control their powers easily, like the Ferris wheel girl. When you know what you can do, you can do it well. Do you think she would have jumped off the Ferris wheel if she did not know that she would survive?"

"No," Eddie answered with his eyes still shut.

"So you should be able to use your powers because you know what they're capable of." Luke said. "You know what your powers can do. You know what you can do, don't you?"

"Yes."

"What can you do?" Luke asked.

"I can glow in the dark."

"Then glow."

White light began emanating from Eddie's body.

Luke smiled at this. "Eddie, open your eyes. You're doing it."

Eddie opened his eyes and looked at his hands as light came from his arms and palms. "Wow, I can't believe it."

"Now, lead us to the safe so we can get out of here." Luke said to Eddie who was still mesmerised by the white light coming from his arms. "Eddie."

Eddie was snapped out of his trance. "Uh… yeah, sorry."

Eddie walked to Mr. Claude's office where Luke melted the lock of the door off. Eddie knew exactly where the safe was. Luke melted the steel around the metal safe door.

Eddie was mesmerised by the amount of money in the safe. He had never seen so much before.

"Jackpot!" Luke pumped his fist happily before he took the stacks of cash into a paper bag.

Eddie helped Luke stuff the money into the bag.

Bell burst in through the door of the store. "Luke! Luke! The cops are coming!"

"The cops?" Luke and Eddie said looking at each other in worry.

They ran out of the office.

"What do you mean the cops are coming?" Luke said.

"They're on the way with sirens blazing!" Bell said. "What do you think I mean?"

Luke looked at Eddie who grabbed his head.

"The silent alarm may have gone off." Eddie said, remembering about the alarm.

"Why didn't you tell us about that?" Luke shouted angrily.

"I-I don't know," Eddie tried to explain. "This-This is my first time breaking and entering s-s-so I'm… I'm a bit nervous."

Luke was already at the window looking out at the flashing ligts coming closer. "What do you think, Bell? How many cars?"

"One, probably." Bell said.

"Oh no!" Eddie said also looking out the window. "This is bad. We're dead! Dead!"

"Eddie, shut up and tone down the brightness would you?" Luke said, noting that Eddie was getting brighter.

"I can't! I'm too afraid of going to jail!" Eddie said, getting even brighter. "I don't want to go to jail. I've seen what happens to people like us! We don't even make it to jail. People with powers are the new black people!" Eddie looked at his trembling hands, where light was coming from. "Oh my goodness, I'm the new black! I'm black and shining!"

Bell slapped Eddie so hard that the sound echoes throughout the empty store.

Eddie was shocked and grabbed his stinging cheek. "Thanks… I-I needed that." Eddie said before the light coming from him died to nothing, plunging the three into darkness.

"Is there a backdoor out of here?" Luke asked Eddie.

Eddie nodded and ran to where it was, bumping into shelves and spilling food on the floor on his way.

Eddie tried to open the door but he could not. "It's locked!"

"Out of the way!" Luke said shoving Eddie aside. He opened his palm and out of it came radiated waves which began melting the lock.

Luke gritted his teeth as he melted the lock in front of him. He heard the door to the store open.

"The alarms still going." A police officer with her gun withdrawn said, inspecting the beeping alarm.

"Yeah, I bet they are still here. You saw the light in the window when we came here." The male officer said. "Whoever you are, give up!"

Luke finally was able to melt the whole lock. He opened the door and saw a bugler gate barring their way.

Bell looked over his shoulder at the gate. "You can melt through that in time, right?"

Luke sighed sadly. "You know what, forget it." Luke turned around and walked past Eddie. "Why should we run? An eagle doesn't run away from ants."

Eddie looked at both of them amazed.

"Eddie, I need you to head over there and shine as bright as you can." Luke said.

"But I…"

"There's no time for question.' Luke said. "Like you said, if we get caught, we're not going to make it to jail. Now go!"

Eddie ran to to the far side of the store. The police officers pointed their guns at the sound of someone running in the store.

"Whoever is here, I suggest you turn yourself in!" The female officer said sternly.

The guy made a sign to investigate where he thought the sound was coming from earning him a nod from the woman officer.

Eddie got onto his knees and curled himself into a ball. He closed his eyes tightly. "Think bright thoughts. Think bright thoughts." Eddie repeated to himself before light came from his body, enough to illuminate the part of the store he was in.

The two officers were surprised by the sudden light, which explains why the female one could not see Luke as he snuck up on her before it was too late. She tried to turn her gun on him but Luke grabbed her gun arm and sent out damaging radiation into her arm. He also opened his palm and sent out more waves of radiation at her face.

This elicited a scream from the female officer.

"Braxton!" The male officer said but before he could help his partner, he felt the air around him tighten and squeeze him from all sides, casuing him to also scream in pain.

Eddie got up and looked out at the sight in the store.

Braxton, the female officer, had fallen onto her back as Luke burnt her reddening face. Eddie could see the glee on Luke's face as he killed the female officer. He glanced at the male officer as he was being crushed by the air, with his hands at his sides. Eddie saw Bell standing before him with her hand thrust out towards his directions, while her fingers were curling closed which seemed to effect whatever was happening to the officer. The male officer eventually dropped his gun and fell to his knees.

"Stop this." Eddie said but between the screaming officers, his low voice could not be heard. He ran to Bell and pushed her hand down. "Stop this!" Their eyes met and he was sure that she could see the fear in his eyes. "Please."

Bell pulled her hand free of Eddie and went to Luke to tell him that they should leave. They began running out the door followed by Eddie.

Eddie saw the female officer as her body trembled lightly before it made its last shudder. Her face had been turned pink with boils and burns on her face.

"Officer Braxton," Eddie quietly remembering her. She and her partner were regulars at the store and he had served them both multiple times.

"Eddie!" Bell said, holding the doorway open. "Let's go!"

Eddie tore his eyes away from the female officer and followed Bell outside.

After a few hours they got to the car and refilled it before leaving. Luke and Bell spoke excitedly about what they had just done. Bell cuddled up close to Luke where they kissed ad fondled while he drove.

Eddie looked away out of the window a little embarrassed and asking himself what he had gotten himself into.

/

The doctor studied the charred body beneath him. He was tall, thin with dark ebony skin covering visible cheekbones. Thompson walked in and saw the doctor.

"Oh, sorry doctor." Thompson said. "I was sent by Dr. Thompkins to check the body but I can come back later."

"Yes, please do." The doctor said. He was thin, tall and had ebony skin. "Come back in 20 minutes. I'll be done by then."

"Okay," Thompson said making to turn around and leave but then he stopped. "You know, its quite funny doctor."

The doctor looked up at him. "What is?"

Thompson walked to the doctor. "I mentioned that a Dr. Thomkins sent me here to check the body but there is no Thomkins in this department and the body your examining has already been to an autopsy but you don't seem to know that."

"Well, uhm… it's a big…" Thompson was on him. He withdrew a knife from his back and made to slit his throat.

The doctor was able to get his arms up and grab onto Thompson's wrist to stop the knife from slicing his throat.

Thompson pushed the doctor against the wall while trying to push the knife to his neck. The fight became one of strength and wills.

"You're quite nimble for an old man." Thompson grunted as he tried to push the knife into the doctor.

"Please," the doctor said with fear in his eyes. "I don't know who you think I am but please… stop this."

"Oh save it!" Thompson said as the edge of the blade came closer to the doctor's neck. "Why did your people kill Kyle Bennet?"

The doctor smiled. "So you know." The doctor skilfully manuvred Thompson to the ground.

Thompson's eyes widened as the doctor on top of him began changing. His skin grew wider as his face and skin grew paler. His black hair became blonde and his arms became bigger, so big that they almost burst through his sleeve. "You're quite forceful for a cute boy."

"So, you're a shapeshifter." Thomspon said before he was able to get the much bigger man off of him.

The shapeshifter was about to attack until he saw Thompson withdraw a gun from his back. He immediately turned tail and ran out of the door.

Thompson gave chase but he made sure to hide his gun as he ran through the hallways of the hospital after his target. The doctor eventually turned a corner and was hidden from Thompson for a moment. When Thomspon rounded the same corner, he saw that it was a waiting room filled with patients and doctors. He looked around for anyone in a lab coat because although the shapeshifter could change his body and face, he could not change his clothes.

He looked disappointedly as there were several people in lab coats both men and women and all looking like they were doing something important. Thomspon continued looking as the lab coats slowly disappeared. Neither of them looked suspicious, neither of them looked at him.

 _This guy is good,_ Thompson thought to himself. He knew that it would be easy for the shapeshifter to give him the slip after he lost him here.

/

Her legs began to wobble with every step. She was not sure if it was because f her exhaustion or maybe her thirst or maybe her hunger or maybe a combination of the three but she knew that she could not go on much longer.

Xing had walked the road for a better part of a day and still did not come across anything. She had come across no small town and no living thing. Her eyes began to tear up as she came to a stand still with her wobbly knees leaning against each other for support. Finally the past few days took their toll on her and she collapsed onto her knees in the middle of the tar road.

She began to openly weep as she wiped away her tears. Those that were no caught by her forearm dropped to the tar road, saturating it before it disappeared. She regretted ever having taken the journey. Her mind was filled with thoughts of how she should have listened to David and should have stayed with her friends and not takes this crazy journey to find Angela Petreli.

Now she did not know how to get back to her friends nor could she find her way to Angela. She would die alone in the middle of nowhere.

Her vision began to blur and she saw everything as doubles. She wiped at her nose while a dizzying feeling began overtaking her. It was then that a bright white light showered her. She looked up at the brilliant light ahead of her.

"I have finally reached the afterlife." Xing said in Mandurian. "I wonder what will it be like."

A silhouette stepped in front of the bright white light.

"Someone has come to welcome me into the afterlife," Xing smiled as tears flowed down her check.

"Uhm… ma'am, are you alright." The voice belonging to the silhouette said. "I don't really understand what you saying."

"Huh?" Xing made the sound questioningly while tilting her head. She did not expect the voice that welcomed her to sound the way it did. It sounded redneck-ish.

Xing blinked and her eyes adjusted. She saw that the light of the afterlife was actually just the headlights of a van and the voice belonged to a young man who was one of its passengers.

"Do you need help?" The young redneck man continued to speak to her.

"I'm looking for Angela Petreli in New York!" Xing said.

"Well, your far away from New York." The teenager said. "The nearest bus staion is that way." The boy pointed behind Xing.

Xing looked back at the road and realised the reason that she had not come across anything was because she had been walking in the wrong direction.

"Me and my folks are going that way." The boy said. "Maybe we can give you a ride?'

Xing smiled and nodded eagerly. "Thank you! Thank you!"

The boy helped her up and they jumped at the back of the van before it began moving away.


End file.
